The Wisconsin state Senate passed SB 395 by a vote of 32-1. the homebrew rights bill we've been working on with the Wisconsin Homebrewers Alliance. In doing so, they rejected an amendment submitted by Senator Scott Fitzgerald (the lone no vote) that would have greatly watered down the bill.

An identical bill, AB 521, has already been through a public committee hearing in the Assembly, and so awaits a vote before the full Assembly. Wisconsin residents, if you haven't already contacted your Assembly representative about supporting AB 521, now's the time! See http://legis.wisconsin.gov/w3asp/waml/waml.aspx to find your representative.

Yesterday, the Wisconsin Senate unanimously passed AB 290, a bill to allow homebrew supply shops to make beer and wine on their premises and offer samples of beer and wine to their customers for educational purposes. The bill has already passed the Assembly, so it's off to the Governor's desk to sign.

We sent out another Action Alert today to our Wisconsin members about the homebrew right bill. SB 395 has been referred to the Assembly Rules Committee to assign a date for an Assembly vote, which could happen any day now. We are asking Wisconsin residents to contact their Representative and ask him/her to support SB 395 or AB 521 (they are identical bills, but SB 395 is the most likely version to be voted on). We are also asking residents to contact the Assembly Speaker and the Assembly Majority Leader to get the bill scheduled for a vote as soon as possible. You can see the alert at http://bit.ly/wuUsDW.

I've been extremely impressed with the Wisconsin Homebrewers Alliance's ability to mobilize club members throughout the state to make phone calls and send email to legislators. The level of media coverage has been impressive as well.

It seems the same type of anti-homebrew nonsense that has been going on in Wisconsin is rearing it's ugly head in Illinois as well. For years clubs around our region have gathered at the Peoria International Beer Festival and served our homebrewed beers to very eager fest-goers. Not anymore. The Illinois Liquor Commission recently sent word to the organizers of the event that serving homebrew was illegal. Why after so many years of participation at the event the point was made now is beyond anybody's guess. The big rumour circulating now is that the State will soon be cracking down on homebrew competitions as well. Perhaps the AHA might be interested in taking on another fight? Our local clubs are willing to go to war on these issues but don't exactly know where to start. Any suggestions? Below is the statute the State has been waving around:

Illinois statute Chapter 235, Act 5, Article II, § 2-1 permits the making of wine, cider or other ALCOHOLIC LIQUOR by a person from fruits, vegetables or grains, or the products thereof, by simple fermentation and without distillation, if it is made solely for the use of the maker, his family and his guests.

Maybe we need to go federal to keep this stuff from happening over and over and over. Not that it shouldn't be fought state by state at the same time.

For better or worse (probably worse in this case), the federal government has no authority over the states regarding homebrew use/removal restrictions. State are able to police homebrewing as they please. This will have to be a state-by-state fight for homebrewers.

That's definitely disappointing news here in Illinois. The homebrewing community seems to be really growing the last few years, with more competitions, clubs, etc. I'm sure we can muster up quite a fight.

Maybe we need to go federal to keep this stuff from happening over and over and over. Not that it shouldn't be fought state by state at the same time.

For better or worse (probably worse in this case), the federal government has no authority over the states regarding homebrew use/removal restrictions. State are able to police homebrewing as they please. This will have to be a state-by-state fight for homebrewers.

Maybe we need to go federal to keep this stuff from happening over and over and over. Not that it shouldn't be fought state by state at the same time.

For better or worse (probably worse in this case), the federal government has no authority over the states regarding homebrew use/removal restrictions. State are able to police homebrewing as they please. This will have to be a state-by-state fight for homebrewers.

My life would be a lot easier if we could all live under the federal statute on homebrewing!

Is there any real reason, beyond rumor, that would lead anyone to think the Illinois Liquor Control Commission is going to go after homebrew competitions? To keep things in perspective, homebrew competitions are private events where homebrew is served to beer judges. That's a lot different than serving unlicensed, untaxed alcohol to the public at an event, like a beer festival, where the attendees pay to get in (to drink beer).

Honestly, I think there are very few states where serving homebrew to the public at a beer festival would be within the letter of the law. In most cases, there would have to be a provision in the homebrew statute to specifically allow for serving to the public at a festival where people pay to get in.

We just sent out an Action Alert to our Mississippi members. Homebrew legalization bills have been filed in both the House and Senate. Mississippi residents, contact your state representative & senator to help get these bills passed. See the Action Alert: http://bit.ly/ydoVAa

The State taking on homebrew competitions is just a rumour. I've always been the kind that felt where there is smoke there is fire though. I guess it is all in how they interpret the statute wording.

"...if it is made solely for the use of the maker, his family and his guests."

It just seems odd that we have been serving beer at festivals for years and this is now just coming up. I think, perhaps, it is time to make some wording changes to the statute that will protect our desire to hold competitions and allow us to donate homebrew to a festival without government pressure. Flying under the radar apparently only works so long until somebody notices and makes an issue of it.